1 This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, along with troops from all the countries he ruled and other nations were attacking Jerusalem and all its nearby towns:

2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go and talk to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the Lord says: Listen! I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he is going to burn it down. 3 You yourself won't escape being captured by him. You will certainly be taken prisoner and brought before him to speak with him personally and see him face to face. You will be taken to Babylon.

4 Listen to what the Lord is telling you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says about you: You won't be killed; 5 you will die in peace. You will have a proper funeral with incense burned for you as they did for your forefathers, the kings who ruled before you. They will weep for you, crying, “The king is dead.” I myself am telling you this, declares the Lord.

6 Jeremiah the prophet told Zedekiah king of Judah all this there in Jerusalem. 7 At this time the king of Babylon's army was attacking the city and the Judean towns of Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities that had not yet been conquered in Judah.

8 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a agreement with everyone in Jerusalem to announce a proclamation of freedom. 9 This meant that every slave owner should free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was to force their fellow citizens to remain slaves any longer. 10 All the officials and all the people who accepted this agreement did what they said. They freed their male and female slaves, not forcing them to remain slaves any longer. They obeyed and let them go free. 11 However, later on they changed their minds and took back the male and female slaves they'd freed, forcing them back into slavery.

12 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a agreement with your forefathers when I led them out of Egypt, out of the prison-house of slavery, saying: 14 Every seventh year, each of you are to set free all fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. They can serve you for six years, but then you must set them free. But your forefathers didn't pay attention and didn't obey what I told them.

15 A little while ago you decided to do what's right, which made me happy. You all announced that you would free your slaves. You made a agreement before me in my Temple. 16 But now you've changed your minds and dishonored me. Each of you took back the male and female slaves you'd set free to do whatever they wanted. You forced them to become your slaves again.

17 So this is what the Lord says: You haven't obeyed me. You haven't announced freedom for your slaves, your own people. So now I announce “freedom” for you, declares the Lord: Freedom to be killed by war, by disease, and by famine! I will make all the kingdoms of the world horrified by you.

18 They have broken my agreement, and have not kept the terms of the agreement they promised before me. So I'm going to cut them up just like the calf they cut in half to pass between its two pieces.* This refers to the way in which an agreement was made. See Genesis 15. 19 I will hand them over to their enemies who are trying to kill them. This includes the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and everyone else who passed between the pieces of the calf. 20 Their dead bodies will become food for birds of prey and wild animals. 21 I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials to their enemies who are trying to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon which had paused its attack on you.† The Babylonian army left Jerusalem temporarily to deal with an advancing Egyptian army. This had led the leaders of Jerusalem to believe that the danger had passed, and that the Egyptian army would help them. See Jeremiah 37.

22 Listen! I will give the order, declares the Lord, and bring them back to Jerusalem. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it. I'm going to destroy the towns of Judah so nobody will live there.